I write a lot about leadership and mindfulness. About the importance of pause before reaction. About the messy middle space in between. But sometimes we need a little help getting into the right frame of mind to hear the words that will make a difference.
So today, I’m sharing something a little different. It’s a guided meditation on loving kindness. Loving kindness is not about pretending things are fine when they aren’t or even faking it until you make it. It’s about reconnecting with the capacity to love that you already have. We’ll focus on the ability to extend care outwardly and to receive love, too.
This meditation runs just over 8 minutes long. You don’t need experience with meditation or even the perfect conditions to practice. You just need to press play and listen as the words tumble over you.
I have more of these on my YouTube channel, but this is the first time I’m bringing this kind of offering to you. I’d love to know what you think. Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Press play when you’re ready.
If you’d prefer to read rather than listen, the full transcript is also available.
TRANSCRIPT
Let’s practice loving kindness meditation together. Take a moment to arrive here. Doesn’t matter where you were a moment ago, you’re here and now.
Bring your awareness to where you are sitting, the surface in contact with your body, and your pressure against it, becoming aware of your body in this moment, bring awareness to your breath through some conscious inhales and exhales.
Let’s do it together, a deep inhale in and exhale through the mouth. Ah, we do this together again, inhale, and now let the breath breathe itself. No effort on your part, the way the body naturally knows how to breathe, you’re just being present with it, and as you settle now, bring to your awareness someone you can love easily, you know, your heart becomes larger when you think of them, that love is unconditional, flowing all the time for them.
Hold them gently in your heart and silently we’re going to whisper some phrases for them, taking a deep breath in and holding them in your heart, and saying, may you be safe, may you be safe, may you be protected, may you be happy, and may you live with ease.
Let’s again repeat these phrases for someone you have unconditional love for, and these phrases will come easily for them. May you be safe, may you be protected, may you be happy, may you live with ease, and just sit here and let them absorb this. Imagine as if these wishes are flowing right into them, and they can experience your well wishes, they can experience that safety, they are protected from inner and outer harm, they find happiness, and they are at ease.
And as you sit with this, you imagine that they are extending the same wishes to you, you can now see them in your awareness, and they are saying the same phrases that you extended to them. They’re saying, May you be safe, may you be protected, may you be happy, may you live with ease, and they extend these, you receive them wholeheartedly, opening your heart up and taking in the wishes that are directed to you, and you hear them again, may you be safe, may you be healthy, may you be happy, may you live with ease, place one hand on your heart, if that feels right. And now offer these wishes to yourself. May I be safe, may I be protected, may I be happy. Be may I live with ease. If this feels difficult for you, because it’s hard to extend love and compassion to ourselves, it’s not a problem. You can even whisper, may this also be held with loving kindness. The fact that it’s hard for me to love myself.
Now bring to your mind somebody who has cared for you, a teacher, a parent, a mentor, a friend, somebody who has showed up for you in times of difficulty, and now we’re going to extend these phrases to them, bring them to your awareness as if they are present right here, right now, and let’s extend some phrases to them, may you be safe, may you be protected, may you be happy, may you live with ease. Say it again one more time with utmost sincerity, may you be safe, may you be protected, may you be happy, may you live with ease, and now we’re going to extend the circle even more, let your awareness expand in all directions, beings you will never meet, those who are struggling tonight, those who are grieving, those who are newly born into this world, all of them like you wanting to be safe, all of them like you wanting to be loved, all of them like you wanting to live with ease. Let’s extend our wishes to them, may all beings be safe, may all beings be healthy, may all beings be happy, may all beings live with ease.
Let’s rest here for a moment in this vast open heart, no boundary between yourself and the world. This is loving kindness. This is the innate quality of a human heart, the ability to love with abundance unconditionally. It’s not a feeling you have to manufacture. It is a capacity that’s always within you, something to nurture and carry with you when you’re ready. Let’s take a deep breath in, and with exhale, spread that kindness around.
